MODULE 6.

2 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRESCHOOLERS

ACTIVITY
Below are behaviors or remarks from children. Your early childhood experiences
may help you arrive at the correct answer. Put a check (/) on the item that is TRUE of
preschoolers and an X on the item that does NOT apply to preschoolers.
___X__1. “Someone switched on the thunder,” a child remarked.
___X__2. Child silently nods on the telephone to answer his Father who is on the other
side of the phone inquiring if Mom is around.
___X__3. “That tree pushed the leaf off and it fell down,” says a child.
___/__4. A child is presented with two identical beakers each filled to the same level
with
liquid. The child is asked if these beakers have the same amount and she says YES.
The
liquid from one beaker is poured into a third beaker, which is taller and thinner than the
first two. The child is then asked if the amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker is equal to
that which remains in one of the original beakers. The child says YES.
___/__5. Child asks a series of “why” questions.
___/__6. Child is strongly influenced by the features of the task that stand out, such as
the
flashy, attractive clown.
__/___7. Child pays attention to the more relevant dimensions of the task such as
directions for solving a problem and not on the prominent clown, for instance.
__X___8. Jun does not realize that the juice in each glass can be poured back into the
juice box from which it came.
__X___9. Mike did not like to share a piece of cake with his younger sister. Mike’s
younger
sister was sick. Mike concludes that he made his younger sister got sick.

PROBLEM: Early childhood is the most critical and rapid period of complete and healthy
motor and cognitive development in human life, increased physical activity may provide
motor and cognitive benefits across childhood and adolescence.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: For the purposes of this review, the terms to be used
throughout the paper are defined as follows:
Physical activity: any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires
energy expenditure, including exercise, active games, and sports programs.
Motor skills: learned sequences of movements that are combined to produce a smooth,
efficient action in order to master a particular task. Different categories of motor skills
are distinguished in the current review, including fine and gross motor skills, locomotor
and object control skills, and body coordination. Notably, the categories are not
exclusive, and as such, motor skills from one category may contain elements of other
categories.
Cognition: the set of mental processes of acquiring knowledge and understanding that
contribute to perception, memory, intellect, and action. Different aspects of cognitive
functioning were included in this review, such as academic achievement, executive
function, learning, language, concentration/attention, memory, and intelligence quotient
(IQ).
Preschool children: according to Kail (2011), preschoolers are defined as between 4
and 6 years of age.
FINDINGS: A total of 623 articles were identified through a search of the databases.
After removing duplicates, titles and abstracts of the remaining articles were screened
and further identified as potentially meeting the inclusion criteria. An additional 2 studies
were located through the search of reference lists. Following a thorough assessment of
the full-text articles, 15 studies fully met the inclusion criteria and were included in this
review. Reasons for excluding articles included ineligible age, special populations, no
measures of motor skills and cognitive development, and non-English language articles.
Notably, a high interrater agreement (14 out of 15, 93%) of the articles included was
obtained between the authors.
CONCLUSION: Today, young children are sedentary for significant portion of the day.
Since early childhood is regarded as an important period of motor and cognitive
development, understanding the effects of physical activity on motor skills and cognitive
development in preschool children has major public health implications. This systematic
review synthesizes the high-quality experimental evidence available regarding the
effectiveness of physical activity on motor skills and cognitive development in 4–6-year
old, typically developing children. Findings favor causal evidence of relations between
physical activity with both motor skills and cognitive development in preschool children,
with increased physical activity having significant beneficial effects on motor skills and
cognitive functioning. Given the small number of studies available in the literature, future
research with large representative samples is needed to explore other cognitive
domains (e.g., executive function and intelligence) and to strengthen and confirm the
dose-response evidence.
SOURCE: G. King, M. Law, S. King, P. Rosenbaum, M. K. Kertoy, and N. L. Young, “A
conceptual model of the factors affecting the recreation and leisure participation of
children with disabilities,” Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, vol. 23, no. 1,
pp. 63–90, 2003.

MODULE 6. 3
ACTIVITY
1. Yes. Their conversation is boasting about their cute pets in their house. They are
talking about their cute pets in their house.
2. The play is all about their pets.
3. They are working together and helping each other.
ANALYSIS
1. Children are playing are playing with their playmates.
2. Yes. For example they are playing Nanay-nanayan. They are enjoying their roles.
3. They are resolving it by themselves by playing again with each other.
4. They are saying Thank you always.
REFLECTION
From this Module on the Socio-emotional Development of Preschoolers. I realized that
social-emotional development includes the child’s experience, experience, expression,
and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding
relationships with others. Young children are particularly attuned to social and emotional
stimulation. Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to establish and
maintain positive relationships. Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to
establish and maintain positive relationships with adults and peers. Consider some of
the children in your own life and the different stages in their social-emotional
development as they were growing up. Preschool-age children are learning to talk about
their feelings and the feelings of others. Social-emotional development, however,
involves more than just expressing emotions. It entails taking turns, becoming
independent in following routines, interacting more with peers, engaging in meaningful
relationships with others, controlling emotions, and developing a positive self-image.
These skills are crucial for children’s successful participation in school and home
experiences and for their overall growth.